I had a hankerin’ for a giveaway, and for something fun and off-beat (I know, right? me being offbeat? what-what-WHAT?!??) and so for this edition of giveaway action we’re doubling up on the prizes and YOU can win just by leaving a comment!

I was recently (that’s “recently” as in my version of “recently” – which is measured in months – and not recently in normal human terms) turned onto a band called side FX, who feature the interesting vocals of wine fan Kim Cameron, and who (according to their publicist) have built their career by performing at wine tasting events.

Fans of well-crafted, pop-infused hooks and musicianship will dig Turning Point, I think – the more astute listeners will pick out a variety of influences from `80s Go-Go’s pop to country and UK club dance beats.

Anyway, today we’re giving away a copy of Turning Pointand throwing in a copy of my band’s pop-influenced album Cloud & Water. Here’s how it works:

YOU leave a comment describing the worst band that you ever saw live while you were drinking (because if a band stinks when you’re buzzing, then they probably really suck). In one week, using a super-secret random process, I will select one commenter as the WINNER.

My personal selection of the worst band that I ever saw while drinking (that’s while I was drinking, though I’ve no proof that the band in question wasn’t drinking) is going to surprise you…

This was many, many, many moons ago, and the drinking on my part was certainly beer during pre-show tailgate party. I was in Philly for a Van Halen concert; Alice in Chains ws the opening act, and they were terrible. Terrible sound, terrible performance, and terribly hostile to the crowd, who started chanting “Eeeedie! Eeeeedie!” halfway through their opening set.

I know that AiC went on to produce a few albums full of total AWESOME, but that night they were struggling mightily.

Crazy, right? Proof positive that just as in wine, in music one performance certainly does NOT a career make.

So let’s hear it – to wine some music that doesn’t suck, tell us what band sucked the most and ruined your buzz!

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Comments

From First To Last is by far the worst band I've seen live. They came to play a show at Virginia Tech with Emery and Down to Earth Approach, two bands I listened to while I was in college. Since we hadn't heard them before, my mates and I decided to check out their music beforehand. They were pretty good, sort of generic scene-metal, but they had a song called "Ride the Wings of Pestilence" that blew me away with an outro.

Little did I know, their original singer, Matt Goode, wanted to step back and focus on lead guitar, so they recruited some short, scenetastic warbler on MySpace to step out front. The guy is the most god-awful thing to ever happen to music. Here's one of his solo efforts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrdfCtrUa44.

Anyway, they picked him up right before they started touring. We go, they start the instruments blasting, and kids start stage-launching and hardcore dancing… it was a pretty good intro. Then this dwarfish priss starts singing… everyone slowly stops what they're doing and just start staring at him. Sensing he's losing the crowd, he runs to the edge of the stage, leans forward, strikes a Christ-like pose, and starts singing a song from Disney's Little Mermaid. Even the kids who were there to actually listen to this band were in total awe at his lack of stage presence. And I know THEY weren't drunk because they were apparently straight-edge.

So, my selection is embarrassing just because I have to admit that I actually saw this band live. Probably nobody will find it surprising that this band was so bad, but I saw Blink 182 in concert years ago. I think the vocalist may have occasionally found the right note by pure luck, and everyone but the drummer seemed to have trouble finding the right tempo. I was drunk (on beer), and I still was able to easily recognize the affront to live music that we were witnessing. I've never recovered.

E Crane

Thursday, 22 July, 2010 at 14:30

Antigone Rising a few years back. They were the opener for another band and we were feeling pretty good (wine and cocktails). The guitarist was out of tune and the drummer kept time like a broken metronome. I remember that they threw shirts into the audience. My buddy caught one and threw it back at the band. We laughed through most of the set…

I used to be a much more avid music listener and concert goer. I've seen quite a range of bands and some of them were pretty bad. I went to Warped Tour for a number of years and that's a huge mixed bag if you don't have a plan of attack. I'd have to say the worst, though, was VAST (not at Warped). It's basically just one dude with a few back up instrument players. He attempted to play a song, for which he didn't have the proper instrument. The song required a stand up bass, and he didn't have it, so he tried humming the tune instead. He stopped mid way though the song, apologized, and moved on to the next. Just terrible. Don't play a song if you don't have the proper tools.

Brett Dennen. A Bay Area folkie who has built a little bit of a following the last couple of years. He played at the Vogue in Indianapolis two years ago. I love his CD's. His music is killer. But in concert, I've never seen a performer out and out not even attempt to make a connection with the audience. He was the headliner and I'd say 40% of the audience (including me) left before the encore. Awful.

Counting Crows on a double bill with Live about 10 years ago is another one. I love Counting Crows and have seen them 1/2 dozen times, and each time it's a crapshoot to see if they're great or if they'll suck. I've seen them be great, but not that night. Adam Duritz tried to do a sing along to "Omaha" and it was almost in a mocking fashion because the concert venue was an outdoor venue in the middle of a bunch of corn fields. Live mopped the floor with them.

Most overrated live band? Gotta be O.A.R. I love 'em, but their reputation for being a concert band radically exceeds the reality.

pecos3779

Thursday, 22 July, 2010 at 20:03

Few years back, I saw reggae legend Gregory Isaacs at Sierra Nevada Music Fest in Boonville. His voice was great, in the early 80's and earlier, before he started doing crack. Every time, which was many, he went near his "upper register", his voice gave out and his once-beautiful voice sounded like a flat tire on a freeway. This happened over and over again and the crowd roared with laughter each time.
Then he had some no name dreadlock dude come out from nowhere to sing and the guy kept chanting… "Hello San Diego!". The crowd laughed some more. I laughed too and my buzz went away. BTW, that's rad you play bass, I play bass too.

My absolute worst concert experience has to be when I inadvertently saw Avenged Sevenfold at Warped Tour (when I was 16). I'm not at all into metalcore or anything that hard, I hung out during their set so I could see the band who came on after them. After getting caught up in a terrifying moshpit (made worst by the wine coolers we sneaked before hand). Happy to say there was no permanent damage, although I absolutely despise the band even more now. Such loud, screamy music!

For me, the worst band I can remember is moe. at the Christmas jam in Asheville, NC this past December. I'm probably a total asshole for criticizing these guys for their performance at a charity event. I had flown down from Boston to spend a long weekend with an old friend, I was drinking Patron, and I was in a fabulous mood after Jackie Greene's yummy bluesy performance. I was trying hard to give them a chance, but try as I may, couldn't understand why these kids all around me seemed to be loving this. Maybe Patron, just wasn't enough and I needed a little something different in order to expand my mind. They must have been true moe.rons. I swear I didn't make that up. I couldn't possibly be that corny, that's what their fans call themselves. Anyway, as their set ended, a fellow concert goer and I exchanged perplexed glances. Still refusing to have my buzz shaved by bad music, I said to him, "They had a few good moments, right?" "Yeah", he replied. "But you shouldn't have to dig through the trash to find them." Here, here.

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